


Improve All Of Your Strong Points (and hide the things you lack)

by Smokestarrules



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Gen, Lilith is trying her BEST to be a teacher/parental figure and This Was Not What She Signed Up For, Luz is an angel, YES THE TITLE IS FROM 'ALYSSA GREENE' WHAT ABOUT IT, and how horrible her parents are, but its there, but lil Amity being BEST BUDDIES w/her big brother gives me feelings, but that's just canon, canon-divergent as of Understanding Willow, headcanon that amity was bffs with Edric when she was little, obvs emira too, so no Grom in here unfortunately :(, the lumity isn't huge, the twins are. messed up but trying, this is just mostly about Amity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:14:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25790416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smokestarrules/pseuds/Smokestarrules
Summary: “The best track at Hexside is the Abomination track,” says Father.“That will be the track you will attend,” says Mother.Amity doesn’t want to. She is good at making Abominations already; some would even say she’s naturally talented, but. She’s always enjoyed other studies more so. She’s always been interested in Beast Keeping, or perhaps Potions, and maybe even Healing would be intriguing, but Abomination? The same thing she’s been doing for years already?She takes too long to answer. Father says, “Amity,” in his voice that means, answer when we speak to you.Amity swallows; says, “okay.”
Relationships: Amity Blight & Edric Blight, Amity Blight & Emira Blight, Amity Blight & Willow, Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Comments: 34
Kudos: 323





	Improve All Of Your Strong Points (and hide the things you lack)

When Amity Blight is five, she starts to understand what it _means_ to be a Blight. Before, she’d just kind of accepted that every family was like hers; when one was expected to be quiet and now rowdy in the house and silent anywhere else, to only speak when first spoken to.

She’s five and they’re at a dinner party. Emira and Edric are old enough to sit at the grown-ups table, but Amity’s not and she’s stuck with the hosts’ daughter, a three-eyed girl who’s name is Boscha. 

Amity does not like Boscha. 

But since she’s the only one Amity’s allowed to talk to, and because Amity gets especially lonely sometimes, she allows Boscha’s _(obnoxious)_ company. But things must get too heated, because the next thing Amity knows is they’re arguing, and then Boscha snarls at her, says, “well, at least _I_ can do magic!” And that _hurts,_ because Amity’s been _trying_ ever since she learned that her siblings could summon at least a little magic by the time they were four, and she’s _five_ already and she still _can’t._

Except it seems like she can because then, without any warning, Amity does magic. 

It’s just a tiny ball of light, really, but it still counts. It hits Boscha square in the face and she shrieks, batting it away. Amity goes incredibly still, staring at the ball of light. 

Then her parents are upon her. “ _Amity,”_ Father says, rough and stern and angry, “What are you-?” But he stops when he sees what she’s staring at. Amity looks up just in time to see him wipe an unfamiliar expression off his face. “Darling,” he says, and Amity realizes with a start that Mother is here too, attempting to calm the crying Boscha. She wonders if Ed and Em are somewhere, too, maybe behind her. “Go say goodbye,” Father orders, and Mother leaves. “Come,” Father says, and his hand grasps _tight, tight, tight,_ over Amity’s wrist as he begins to pull her out of the house. To her horror, the sudden movement makes her let go of her precious ball of light, and she watches it fade to nothing as she leaves the room. 

Amity doesn’t understand what’s going on, but when she looks back again and sees Emira and Edric following her, they don’t look happy.

Edric smiles at her, though, and even if Emira can’t seem to muster up one of her own, the gesture still calms Amity enough. Father’s grip is still far too firm, but Amity manages to keep up enough so that he’s not completely dragging her anymore. He pulls her to the carriage and barks, “get in.”

Amity does. She clambers into the backseat, and Edric climbs in after her. He gives her another reassuring smile, and leans in conspiritally to whisper, “I saw that light spell, Mittens, that was good!”

Emira gets in the carriage too, but she sits in the front seat. Mother comes out of the mansion, then, and she and Father join them. The ride back to the Blight mansion is stiff and silent.

When they get home, all Amity has time to do is hop out of the carriage before Father is rounding on her. “Amity,” he says, and Amity flinches away because that voice only ever means that he’s mad at her, but her eyes go wide when Edric steps in front of her, shielding her from their father.

“Easy, dad,” Ed says, ignoring the heavy glares he was receiving from his twin. “She didn’t mean to. You can’t punish her.”

Father pauses. “You think we’re going to punish her?”

Mother laughs, and Amity’s eyes dart to her. She’s only just now stepping onto the ground, but when she comes forward, there’s a gleam in her eye that makes Amity uncomfortable. “You don’t have to worry about your little sister, Edric,” she says, leaning over to place a hand on Amity’s shoulder. “But we’re not punishing her.”

Father kneels down to Amity’s level, leaving Edric standing dully above them both. “You did magic, right?”

Amity may be confused, but _that’s_ something she’s sure of. “Yes, I did,” she replies, and for reasons she doesn’t know, both Edric and Emira let out a deep breath when she says it. She looks up to try and meet her brother’s gaze, but he’s avoiding her gaze. “Is.. that bad?”

Her parents exchange a glance. Father stands up and says, “Edric, Emira, go inside.”

“Dad-” 

“I don’t think-”

 _“Now.”_ This time, Father’s tone leaves nothing to think about. Slowly, Ed and Em turn to leave. Amity watches them go worriedly and wishes they hadn’t had to go. She feels better, usually, when her siblings are there to act as a buffer between her and their parents. She doesn’t like being alone with them. 

“Are you mad at me because I hurt Boscha?” Amity asks. Mother comes to kneel beside Father so she can look into her eyes.

“No, we’re not,” Father responds softly. Too softly. Amity focuses her attention on him. “You did magic. Do you know what that means?” 

Amity shakes her head.

Mother says, “it means you can be a witch, darling. You can train to be a powerful witch and keep the family tradition going just like your brother and sister.”

Amity’s eyes go wide. “Like Azura, too?” The Azura books were her _favorite._

For a moment, Mother falters, but she recovers quickly, plastering a smile on her face as Father coughs into his sleeve. “Like Azura, yes,” she says. “Even better, maybe.”

"Yes!” Amity may be young, but she’s smart enough to know that her siblings’ magic made them special to her parents. Maybe, because she had magic, too, _she’d_ be special to them too. “I will become a witch!”

“Wonderful.” Father stands up, wiping the dirt off his pants in one smooth motion. “That settles it, then. We’ll enroll you in the school tomorrow, understand?”

Amity nods, giddy. 

Mother is already inside, and when Amity turns to follow her, Father says, “Amity.”

She stops. Looks at him obediently. Father looks at her with steel-like eyes and she tries not to fidget. Finally, he says, “to do magic well is to be a Blight. Magic is something Blights have shaped for centuries.” His gaze somehow turns even colder. “You must succeed in your studies of magic. You must _exceed_ expectations. Do you understand?”

Amity swallows, her happy feeling gone. She takes a deep breath. “Yes, Father,” she says, so young and already with the weight of the world on her shoulders, “I will make you proud.”

He nods stiffly. “You do that.” 

And then he’s gone, and Amity’s left standing in the street with a distinct feeling that she’s just lost something, somehow.

_(Edric comes to her room that night and asks to see her ball of light. He shows her how to do it properly, and by the time he leaves, all worries have washed away from Amity’s mind)_

_(It’s the last time he ever seeks her out without the intention to tease her)_

;;

When Amity Blight is six, she learns that to be a Blight is to be _perfect._

She adapts to magic as quickly as if she’d been using it all alone. She goes to a special school and avoids Boscha and her posse and gets good marks and feels good about it. But good marks aren’t the _best_ she can do. That’s what Father says, at least, when he sees her scores when she’s done with her first half-year. 

“Amity.” That’s all he says, staring at the fireplace with his back to her, and she flinches at the sound of her name. _“Amity.”_

“I’ll do better,” she decides that in an instant.

Father nods, jerkily. “I know you will.”

Amity waits for something, _anything_ else, but there’s nothing. Slowly, she goes to leave, but before she can clear the room, Father mutters, “Edric and Emira each got one-hundred on this test,” and _oh,_ now Amity understands.

“Yes, sir,” she says obediently. Then she takes her leave, going up to her room to think over her new revelation.

All this time, she hadn’t understood what she was supposed to be aiming for. Sure, to join the Emperor's Coven was what she _assumed_ would be the end; that was the job every aspiring witch wanted, after all. But what Father had said had given her a new realization. Her parents want her to be better than Emira and Edric. The twins are _perfect;_ conjuring magic easily and with so much control… but Amity knew they were also hard to keep in line.

Her parents want someone _perfect_ who will listen to them. They want her to be _better_ than her siblings. 

_(She knows Ed and Em sneak out of every other class they’re in, but they still manage to get top marks for every single one, and she kind of hates them sometimes)_

;;

When Amity Blight is seven, she meets her best friend, Willow, who is also a witch even though she’s not very good at any spells that don’t have anything to do with plants, and even if she’s not very good, not _naturally talented_ like Amity, she still likes Willow very, very much. She and Willow have fun nearly every day together for two years, and Willow makes her happier than anyone at home ever has.

And then Amity invites her to her ninth birthday party, even after seeing that she’s not on her parents’ Guest List Of Approval.

And. Well. You know how _that_ turns out.

 _(She tries to fight back, too; tries to tell them, “but she’s my best friend!” but all Father has to say is,_ “Amity,” _and she backs down like a tamed demon obeying its master)_

;;

When Amity Blight is ten, she finishes her last year of elementary school with perfect scores. She’s proud of herself, and rightfully so; perfect scores certainly weren’t easy - _naturally talented_ or not - and she goes home with her scores on a piece of paper, a wide grin on her face.

Edric greets her at the door, so Emira can’t be far behind. “Ooh, what’s this?” He asks, and he grabs the paper out of her hands as quickly as that. 

“Hey!” Amity tries to swipe at it, but he just holds it out of her reach. 

“Yo, Emi!” He cries, and Emira sticks her head out of the kitchen. “Lil’ Mittens here got perfect marks!”

Emira grins, laughing at the way Amity keeps trying to take the paper back. “Nice one, little one!” She winks as Edric finally lets Amity have it back, laughing all the way. The twins have just gotten more and more annoying as the years went by; even bordering on full-on _mean_ oftentimes. Amity doesn’t know what she’d done to trigger the change in them, but she often found herself wishing she could fix whatever it was she’d messed. For her own sake, of course.

_(It wasn’t like Amity missed actually talking to them instead of trading insults constantly; that was ridiculous)_

“I hate you two,” Amity grumbles, annoyed. “Where’s Father and Mother?”

“Mom won’t be home until tomorrow,” Edric says; Emira’s disappeared again, but Amity keeps one eye out for her. It’s never good to let your guard down around the twins. “But Dad’s here, if you want to go and show him your _grades.”_ The way he says it, like it's something to be ashamed of, makes Amity’s ears burn. 

“Thank you,” she hisses stiffly, hugging the paper to her chest. Thankfully, it’s not torn. “I _will.”_

She heads to Father’s study with Ed chucking behind her, but she pauses when she gets to the closed door. She always hates it when the door is closed; she never knows if she’s allowed to knock or not. Sometimes he gets angry when she disturbs him, sometimes he doesn’t. Still, she lifts one hand to knock, but before she can the door opens on its own, and Father steps out. His gaze settles on her coldy, and she tries not to shiver too obviously.

“Ah, you’re back from school,” he observes.

Amity swallows. “Yes, sir. I have my grades here.” She hands him the paper and tries not to panic as he fixes his glasses in order to read it.

After a minute, he says, “huh. One-hundred on everything.”

“Yes, sir,” she responds.

“Amity,” he says, and, reflexively, Amity flinches. But he just nods at her as he hands the paper back. “Well done. Show your mother when she gets home.”

Then he’s gone, vanishing down the stairs as quickly as if he had used a transportation spell. 

Amity stands there for another few moments. She doesn’t know what she’d been expecting, but that hadn’t been it. Did he just not care? Or was he simply pushing down his emotions? He’d said _well done,_ but had he meant it? Was he proud of her? _Would it have killed him to tell her that?_

She heads back to her room. There’s no point in agonizing over Father’s thoughts, and she has studying to do. 

;;

When Amity is twelve, she starts her first year at Hexside. And, of course, her future is decided by _them._

_(She’s pretty sure Edric and Emira had chosen their own classes)_

“The best track at Hexside is the Abomination track,” says Father. They're in his office. Amity’s just received her letter of acceptance to Hexside _(like there was ever any doubt)_ and Father and Mother had wanted to iron out a schedule as quickly as possible.

“That will be the track you will attend,” says Mother. “The Abomination class is the best in offering future careers, Amity. You could even join the Emperor’s Coven if you do well in the Abomination class.”

Amity doesn’t want to. She is good at making Abominations already; some would perhaps even say she’s _naturally talented,_ but. She’s always enjoyed other studies more so. She’s always been interested in Beast Keeping, or perhaps Potions, and maybe even Healing would be intriguing, but Abomination? The same thing she’s been doing for years already?

_(Neither the Plants class or the Illusions class were even options in her mind, because of Willow and her siblings respectively)_

She takes too long to answer. Father says, _“Amity,”_ in his voice that means _answer when we speak to you._

Amity swallows; thinks _there’s no way out,_ says, “okay.”

Her first few weeks at Hexside are.. good. Boscha is there, too, with another girl named Skara, and so at least she’s not totally alone. Maybe she can even grow to tolerate Boscha’s presence eventually. She learns tricks and tactics and spells and it's.. nice. It’s _good,_ to be learning so many new things. 

_(Even if she has to be on a constant watch for Willow, who’d also made it to Hexside. Of course she had)_

“Oh, look,” Boscha says, loudly, and Amity winces, turning away from her locker to see who’s the poor soul that Boscha’s set her eyes on for today. And then her stomach drops. It’s Willow.

Of _course_ it’s Willow.

“Look who it is, Amity,” says Boscha, and Amity wants to kill her. “The plant squad, party of one. Hey, Willow, Is it true that you can’t even manage a simple levitation spell?”

Willow frowns softly at the insult, but she only looks at Amity. “I thought you were better than this,” she says quietly, and it’s the first time Amity’s heard her voice in four _years_ and she’s trapped in between a rock and a hard place; her parents had _said_ to keep Boscha close and she really doesn’t _want to be here_ and-

Amity musters up the most aloof expression she can possibly make. “Maybe you thought wrong, _Half-A-Witch-Willow.”_

Silence.

Then, Boscha bursts into laughter, and beside her, usually much quieter, Skara starts giggling as well. “Half-A-Witch-Willo-” she doubles over, laughing even harder. “That’s _brilliant,_ Blight!”

Amity feels as though she’s made a terrible mistake. Willow stands in front of her, tears building up in her eyes, and it’s so eerily reminiscent of their last encounter that Amity can hardly stand it. “So that’s how it is,” her former best friend says, her quiet, shaking voice somehow drowning out the loud noises the other two girls were making. “G-got it. I won’t bother you anymore.”

And then she’s gone.

Boscha grabs ahold of Amity’s shoulder and, still chuckling, tells her, “that was _so_ good, Amity! You definitely put that little witchling in her place! Now, c’mon, or we’ll be late.” She pulls away, thankfully, and starts heading away, walking the opposite way Willow had gone.

Amity watches Willow walk down the hallway and thinks _(hopes, prays)_ that it’s for the best. 

;;

When Amity is thirteen, the leader of the Emperor’s Coven says she wants to train her. _Lilith Clawthorne._ Wants to train _her._

Amity can’t believe it. 

Ms. Clawthorne comes to her house two days after telling Amity of her intentions, and Amity wants to die as she watches her potential teacher sit down with her parents in the sitting room.

“Ooh, are you in trouble?” Emira asks, and Amity glares at her as she makes her way in to sit beside Mother.

She hadn’t told her family what Ms. Clawthorne had said to her. “I’ll inform them, so you don’t need to worry about it,” she’d told Amity that day, and Amity had still been in shock from being chosen but she’d still listened. 

She still can’t believe Ms. Clawthorne wants _her._ Sure, she knows she’s _naturally talented,_ but as far as Amity knows, that’s all that’s going for her. _..And I’m not exactly a good person,_ Amity thinks, her thoughts inevitably turning to Willow and the hurt in her former friend’s eyes when she’d yelled at her to leave. Amity doesn’t deserve a good teacher. 

Too late, Amity realizes she’s been in her own head for too long, and when she shakes herself out of it, all three adults are staring at her. “.. M-my apologies,” she stutters, her ears burning, “what did you say?”

Mother frowns, and Amity avoids her eyes. “Ms. Clawthorne here was just _very kindly_ offering to give you some extra lessons after school days, child. What do you have to say for yourself, wasting her time like this?”

Amity lowers her gaze to the floor. “I apologize,” she says again. 

“There’s no need,” says Ms. Clawthorne. “That is one of the reasons I would like the opportunity to train your daughter, Mrs. Blight. She has a wonderful head on her shoulders. Always thinking” To Amity’s surprise, it kind of sounds like a _compliment._

“Hmm,” her Mother says. 

Father strokes his beard and looks complentative. Amity knows it’s all an act; she knows they would _never_ pass up the chance to get her extra lessons, and that Lillith Clawthorne is the head of the Emperor’s Coven itself, well. It’s practically a done deal. Her parents just like to make the other person sweat a bit before answering. Ms. Clawthorne, though, doesn’t seem the slightest bit bothered. She gives Amity a kind smile, and then Father clears his throat.

“Amity,” he says, and she swallows. “Would you like to train with Ms. Clawthorne?”

It’s not really a question. If she refused, here, right in front of them all…

Well. It doesn’t matter, because she _does_ want to. “Yes, sir,” she replies.

“Perfect.” Father claps his hands together. “Then it’s settled. Amity, I expect you to make your own schedule with your new teacher. Ms. Clawthorne, it was a pleasure.” They all stand, and Ms. Clawthorne shakes their hands. 

“Amity,” she says once they've said their pleasantries, “walk me out, will you?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Amity ducks her head. 

She ignores Ed and Em’s obnoxious shouting as they head to the door, and when Ms. Clawthorne steps outside, she gives Amity a soft look. “I believe this may be beneficial to both of us, young Blight,” she says quietly. “I'll be waiting for you after school tomorrow. I am sure you will be ready.”

Amity straightens up. “Yes, ma’am!” She says, and the excited feeling is back. Boscha will _die_ when she sees who’s waiting for Amity tomorrow, and it’s always good to one-up Boscha every once in a while. 

_(Amity still dislikes the two girls her parents had offered as suitable friends, but her pedants had said so and so she had stuck around, unfortunately)_

“I'll see you, then,” Ms. Clawthorne waves goodbye as she summons her staff. Amity waves back, and grins widely, for once breaking her smooth poker face. She was going to be trained by one of the greatest witches of all time. Who wouldn't be happy about that?

;;

Thirteen is the year Amity both thrives _(at least, her social life does)_ and starts to go downhill. _(That’d be her few moments alone with herself)_

She heads into her second year at Hexside proudly and decides she’s done following Boscha around. She can’t get rid of her, unfortunately, because she knows she’s still to be on good terms with the three-eyed witch, but she pulls back some.

She makes it so that Boscha follows _her._

All it takes is a few, _“Oh, no thank you, I’m busy that day,”_ and soon enough it’s clear the person leading their little posse has changed.

And Amity keeps going. She works harder with Ms. Clawthorne every day, and she studies until her eyes feel like they’re going to burn out of her sockets, and she gets better and better and better but _it’s never enough._

No matter how many tests she brings back to her house, the red one-hundred circled plain to see on every single one of them, her parents never seem to be proud of her. Ed and Em slowly become less teasing and more cruel, and Amity begins to dread going home after school and training with Ms. Clawthorne. So she starts going to the library more often. It’s quiet, and calming, and holds more books than she could ever possibly hope to read.

She likes it there. 

And once she finds the secret room inside the middle of the romance section, covered and cobwebs and _empty,_ she likes it even more. 

_(Why she was in the romance section in the first place is of no importance)_

She goes home right after school, one weekday. Ms. Clawthorne hadn’t been able to make it in, and Amity hadn’t felt up to going to the library today, so she gets home about three hours earlier than usual. She’s naturally soft-footed, and she has no idea if her parents are home or not, so she climbs the stairs as quietly as she physically is able.

She finds the twins in her room.

They stare at her, wide-eyed, as she appears in her doorway. It’s clear they hadn’t been expecting her. Amity takes a quick scan around the room to make sure nothing’s broken or stolen and-

Edric’s got her favorite Azura book in his hands.

 _“Hey,_ Mittens!” He says loudly, awkwardly. 

“What’re you doing here?” Emira asks, a strained grin on her face. 

“This is my room,” Amity says, feeling anger bubbling up in her chest. “Why are _you_ here? And what are you doing with _that?”_

Edric looks down at the book he’s holding and drops it abruptly. Amity winces as it hits the ground; she hopes it hasn’t been messed up. “Oh, how did that get here?” He asks nobody in particular. “Matter of fact, I don’t think this is our room, Emi.”

“Nope!” Emira shakes her head. “This is definitely not our room. Sorry, Amity, wrong one!”

She gives Amity a wink as they both leave. Amity leans over and gently picks the Azura book off the floor. Thankfully, it isn’t broken. Even the spine is still perfectly intact. 

_(She takes all four Azura books to her secret hideout in the library just the next day. She doesn’t know what the twins were planning to do with it, but she doesn't want to find out)_

And, of course, there's another _incident_ that happens that year. One involving her incredibly talented and extremely kind teacher. 

_“Very_ well done, Amity,” Ms. Clawthorne praises, and Amity preens under it. She’s just managed to perform an entire show with her Abomination with only one or two mishaps, and she can’t help the smile that springs up every time someone tells her she’s _done well_ and the words are out of her mouth quicker than she can stop them.

“Thank you, mom!”

Amity freezes. Ms. Clawthorne freezes. The _world_ freezes.

Then Ms. Clawthorne coughs. Awkwardly, jerkily, and Amity hopes at least she hasn’t ruined _everything._ “Y-yes, well..” Her teacher seems to struggle getting back on-topic, but she gives her head a firm shake and forges bravely on. “Right. Now that your Abominations review is over, how about teleportation?” 

_(The most embarrassing part is that isn’t the last time Amity accidentally lets the misnomer leave her mouth)_

_(Far from it, actually)_

And while Amity does all of this; of studying and training and avoiding her family and somewhat accepting Boscha’s near-constant presence in her life, she also changes. She becomes.. _different,_ especially at school. She becomes _meaner._

She knows this.

She starts bullying people. Willow, often, but other people as well and she. Doesn’t really have an excuse as to why, other than she’s just _naturally_ a bad person alongside being _naturally talented._ And maybe there’s something to be said about the more stress and the more avoiding her parents and the more desperately turning away when she sees her brother and sister coming and _sure,_ she keeps most hurtful comments to herself and _sure,_ nine times out of ten she just listens as Boscha does it for her, but. 

It doesn’t excuse the things she says and does. 

She knows this. 

Still, she can’t find a way to stop. 

It’s just instinct, now, when even she’s alone, Boscha nowhere to be found, and Willow is there, to send some passive-aggressive comments her way, or to mock her magic, which hasn't really gotten any better since she came to Hexside. Amity doesn’t know _why_ it’s so easy to be so cruel, but she figures it just means she’s a bad person.

_(She knows this)_

;;

When Amity Blight is fourteen, she meets a human for the first time. Humans are practically mythical creatures, really, so it’s sort of a shock that it acts with such incompetence. You’d think it’d act more regal, like one of the creatures that supposedly live in the human’s world, a _horse_ for example was described to be a massive, hulking beast that the humans had somehow tamed and _rode upon._

But the human Luz is _anything_ but regal.

Luz is everything Amity was raised to _not_ be. She’s endlessly reckless, with a surprising affinity for breaking the rules _(or perhaps not surprising, given who her mentor turns out to be)_ and seems to have a knack for ruining Amity’s life.

Okay. Maybe that’s going a _bit_ too far. But Amity thinks she’s well within her rights to be upset. Firstly, the human had disrupted her Abominations class and made everyone think _Willow_ of all people had surpassed _Amity_ and _what was she good for besides Abominations, anyway, it wasn’t like anything else mattered, right? At least that’s what her parents always tell her and-_

_Ahem._

Secondly, the human had the _nerve_ to show up to the Witch’s Covention, despite being a _human_ and therefore unable to wield magic. Not much is known about humans, really, but it is a historical fact that humans have both rounded ears and absolutely _no_ magic gene. Still. Even when told that, the human still _tries._

...Amity hates her.

Amity is fourteen when she has her first Witches duel. She loses.

..Kind of. _Technically_ she tied, because the human Luz had cheated and so had she, so _technically_ it was a draw at best, but it certainly _feels_ like a loss and Amity knows her parents will see it as so, no matter the explanation. There's no point in trying to hide it, either. News travels fast in Bonesborough and they surely already know.

Amity braces herself when she gets home, but there’s no one there. Instead, there’s a note attached to her bedroom door. When she opens it, it says, _Amity._ She winces. Even if it’s only on paper, she can practically hear Father’s disappointed voice. _We are out of town for a few days with Edric and Emira. We will talk about your most recent failure once we get back._

Amity’s heart drops into her stomach.

She’d known about the business trip coming up, but she hadn’t known that Ed and Em were going to go with them. She doesn’t like being in the Blight mansion on her own.

But it can’t be helped. 

_(In all of what had happened, she even forgets, for a time, that the human had referenced_ Azura _in her passionate speech to Amity)_

She spends the week alone, wallowing in her own shame, and when her family arrives home, she stands in Father’s study for an hour-and-a-half as he chews her out thoroughly for _shaming the Blight family name, Amity,_ and she can’t help but agree with him. Even if the human Luz had cheated, Amity should’ve been able to beat her. She’d lost to a _human._

She deserves everything her Father says to her.

 _(A week later, she finds the human Luz inside her library hideout with her siblings, holding her open diary, and thinks maybe she and Luz_ can’t _reconcile. Five minutes later Luz apologies and explains and makes her laugh in the face of certain death and she thinks maybe they can)_

;;

Amity’s fourteen when she has her first crush. It turns out that those strange feelings she gets around Luz are _not_ hatred. 

_(Rather, the opposite)_

_(Luz holds out her hand to her after their failed duel and Amity watches as the human creates the most beautiful magic she’s ever seen. It seems rather fitting; it being a light spell. A little ball of light)_

Luz smiles at her when they’re about to be sewn into a children’s book for all eternity, and she’d just been wearing a dumb _Azura_ outfit and she’s so utterly _ridiculous_ that even in mortal peril Amity can’t help but laugh. Luz _smiles_ at her, all the time, and every single one makes Amity’s heart skip a beat. Luz treats her like a person; like a _friend,_ maybe, and Amity _wants_ so badly to spend more and more time with her. Luz laughs and it's the best, most happy sound Amity’s ever heard. Luz makes her want to own up to the countless mistakes she’s made throughout her life and apologize.

_(Luz hugs her and Amity’s heart nearly bursts out of her chest)_

;;

Amity’s fourteen when she makes up with Willow. Or, at least, _begins_ to make up with her. 

It starts with Amity being stupid, as many things seem to do.

She hadn’t meant to. She’d just gotten so scared when she saw Willow’s memories with _her_ hanging there in plain sight. She hadn’t thought it through, and she _certainly_ hadn’t meant to wipe Willow’s entire mind! But then Luz is there, _of course,_ and like Luz has been doing this whole time, the human helps her fix her mistakes and, together, they fix Willow’s mind.

Amity’s sure Luz must hate her, now that she’s seen her at her worst, but when it comes time to leave, Luz gives her the same smile she always has and says, “see you later,” so maybe she _doesn’t_ hate her.

Maybe.. She even considers Amity a friend. 

It starts slowly, her sort-of conversion.

Being in Willow’s mind changes _everything._ After reliving their shared worst moment again, Amity is hit with a desire to make things right. She _never_ wants to make Willow feel like that again. Make _anyone_ feel like that, ever again.

It starts by avoiding Boscha and Skara. She never has to say anything to them, which is a small mercy. Boscha just has to look at her as they pass each other in the hallway and, even in that instant, she understands. Whatever Boscha sees in her eyes makes the three-eyed girl scoff and shake her head at her, and it’s enough. Just a few days later, the entire school knows about Amity’s separation from the former trio. 

And, slowly, cautiously, she starts to hang around the others. The _others,_ meaning Willow, Gus, and, of course, Luz. She’d been hesitant to approach them at first, even with what had happened in Willow’s mind _(or maybe_ because _of what had happened in Willow’s mind)_ but Luz had approached her just a day after the incident and invited her to their table at lunch.

Amity had come. And even though, yes, it had been awkward, and she and Willow couldn’t have said more than two words to each other, Luz had rolled with it and kept things from getting _too_ stilted. 

And it was _fun._

Amity had been spending her lunches usually holed up in a hidden corner reading and avoiding Boscha, but she now understood that most kids looked forward to lunch for the _opposite_ reason; for social interaction _with their friends._ And so, just for a few blissful days, she dares to hope she could keep them.

She’s so naive. 

Word gets back to her parents, of _course_ word gets back to her parents. That she’s abandoned Boscha and Skara. That she’s talking to that _Half-A-Witch-W_ _illow._ That she’s fraternizing with a _human._

But Amity doesn’t know that yet, as she walks home five days after making up with Willow. She’s later than usual; training with Ms. Clawthorne had gone longer than they’d expected. Her siblings greet her at the door, which is never a good sign in the first place, and the concerned looks on their faces makes her hesitate as she steps inside the mansion.

“..What?” She asks once it’s clear neither of them are going to speak first.

Edric rubs the back of his head. He says, “hey, Mittens, so, uh- mom and dad are looking for ya.”

Amity feels her heart sink, but she keeps her brave face on. She can’t look intimidated in front of them. “Okay. Are they in Father’s study?” It’s a rhetorical expression; there was no other room they’d ever wait for her in. She squares her shoulders and goes up exactly one stair.

“Amity, wait.” The use of her actual name gives her pause, and she turns back to face the twins. It’s Emira who’d spoken up. “When mom and dad came home today they were talking to each other and we happened to overhear-” she cuts herself off, suddenly looking conflicted. 

Edric takes over. “Did mom and dad really _make_ you stop being friends with that Willow girl?” He almost looks like he’s about to cry, and this the most serious Amity’s seen the twins in _years._

Amity frowns. Avoids their gazes. “Yes, technically,” she admits. _Technically,_ it was all her fault. She was too much of a coward to fight back, then. 

And even if she doesn’t think she’ll win this time, well. She won’t let them just tell her what to do and who to make friends with anymore. 

Emira says, “I’m so sorry.” Edric stays silent. 

Amity thinks they’re done, and she’d like to get this over with, so she turns away again.

And is immediately stopped, _again,_ because _someone is knocking on the door._

“Who..?” Emira mumbles as she reaches the massive door and, upon opening it, says, “Oh!”

“Who is it?” Edric asks, his voice smaller than usual. 

“Amity, it’s for you,” Emira says, and when she moves out of the way so she’s not blocking Amity’s line of sight anymore, it’s _Luz._

“Luz? What're you doing here?” Amity hadn't even known Luz knew where she lived. She walks up to her, confused. The human is doubled over with her hands on her knees, and she’s panting, like she’s run all the way here. _What?_

“Amity! Oh, thank goodness I caught you in time!” Without warning, she latches herself onto Amity in an embrace, hugging her tightly. Amity flushes, having not expected this reaction, but she pats Luz’s back a few times before the human pulls away. She’s thankful her siblings are a bit out of it at the moment; else they’d never let her hear the end of it.

“Please explain,” Amity says. “ _W_ _hy_ are you here.”

Luz nods rapidly. “Okay! So I heard from King who heard from Gus who heard from Willow who heard from Skara who-” she pauses, realizing that she’d lost Amity in translation, and shakes her head. “Wait, all that stuff doesn’t matter. The important part is that Boscha is telling _everyone_ that she got you in trouble with your parents!” 

Amity frowns again. She hadn’t thought it’d be _Boscha_ of all people, but now that she thinks about it, of _course_ it was her. Boscha had always been petty like that, and now that Amity isn’t hanging out with her, even she isn’t safe anymore. 

“Yes, that’s probably true,” Amity says. “I’ve been asked to meet with Mother and Father now, actually.”

Luz gives her a look that reminds Amity of a kicked baby demon. “And it’s my fault, right?” She asks softly. “They’re mad because you’re hanging out with a human.”

Amity considers her answers before deciding on the truth. “Most likely, yes. But it’s not your fault, Luz. This would have happened eventually, whether with you or without.”

“Well, still.” Luz puffs out her chest and her gaze turns stern. “I’m not letting you face them alone, Amity. Not after what I saw in Willow’s mind.”

Amity swallows. “Luz-”

“Nope!” Luz interrupts her. She takes a careful step into the house and looks at Amity with steady eyes. “You aren’t going to be able to convince me otherwise! I’m coming with you whether you like it or not!”

Amity knows she isn’t going to win this argument. Luz is one of the most stubborn people she’s ever met in her life, and, honestly, Luz’s presence beside her as she faces her parents doesn’t seem so bad. Luz sees the answer as Amity sighs, and she gives Amity a soft smile that, one a normal day, would make Amity’s heart jump. But the anxiety is starting to catch up to her, and so she manages just a weak one back and lets Luz in.

When she closes the door behind Luz and turns around, her siblings are gone. She wonders when they’d left.

“This way,” she says softly, and she leads Luz up the stairs and treads the familiar path to Father’s study. “They’re in here.” she takes a deep breath, and then feels a soft hand on her shoulder.

Luz is _here._ “It’ll be okay,” she says, gently, meeting Amity’s eyes. “I know you can do this.”

Emboldened by the human’s words, Amity swings the door open. Without knocking. 

Father is sitting in his office chair; Mother is going over some papers in front of him. They both look up at the intrusion, and Amity watches Father’s expression darken.

“Good children knock,” Mother says coolly. 

Amity ignores her. “You wanted to speak with me?”

“Yes.” Father gets to his feet. He opens his mouth to say something, but then his eyes find Luz and he snaps, “what is _she_ doing here?”

“ _She’s_ my friend,” Amity replies. “And my guess is that you want to speak to me _about_ her, so she’s here. Now speak.”

“Good children don’t speak to their parents that way,” Mother hisses. “Tread carefully, Amity.”

Amity stays silent. Eventually, Father gives in.

“I had thought,” he begins, “that we were past this point. But it turns out that we have _not_ finished our conversation about who exactly you are allowed to associate yourself, and, consequently, the Blight name with. I thought I made this clear with your _first_ magic-less friend, but now a _human?_ What are you thinking?”

“Hey-” Luz tries to say, but now it’s Amity’s turn to interrupt _her._

“No matter what you say, Luz is still my friend, that’s what I’m thinking!” Amity says, her tone rising a bit. “I shouldn’t have let you make me get rid of my first friend. Please understand-” her voice cracks. “Pushing Willow away is the biggest regret of my _life._ I won’t do it again.”

And for a moment, it’s blissfully silent. Then Father’s face tightens, and fear starts to bubble in Amity’s stomach. 

_“Amity-”_ Father says, and Amity freezes. Panic starts to set in, suddenly, _instinctively._ When he says her name like that, she knows he means all from _you’re being ridiculous, child,_ to _you do_ not _speak to me like this,_ and everything in between. He means, _you are so young and emotional, Amity, you really think you know better than me?_ _Good children don’t argue with their parents, Amity._

This is the breaking point, just Father saying her name. In every argument she’s ever had with her parents, that’s all he’s ever had to do to make her back down. _“Amity.”_

Then she focuses her eyes back on him. His face is a mask of anger, but she can see it. The tiniest twitch in his eyebrows. He thinks he’s won. He thinks, just because he says her name like _that,_ like he had been doing for as long as she’s been alive, he’ll win this argument.

He’s almost right.

But then Amity feels Luz slip her hand quietly into hers. She doesn’t have to look at the human to know she’s sporting a heavy glare.

Amity forces herself to take a deep breath. _Luz is here,_ she thinks. _I am safe._

Father will _not_ win this one.

“No,” she growls aloud. 

Father’s eyes widen. “Amit-”

“NO.” Amity says again, with more force this time. “No. You cannot control my choice in friends.”

“We are your parents-” Mother begins, but Amity’s not done.

“Yes, you are! But you won’t control me like this anymore. I refuse.” She turns around, still clutching Luz’s hand. She hopes her parents can’t see just how tightly she’s holding on. “C’mon, Luz.”

Luz scrambles after her, and Amity hears a “mleh!” sound behind her and she thinks Luz has just stuck her tongue out at them and she can’t find it in herself to care. The door closes with a click behind them, and Amity breathes in, feeling like a great weight has just lifted off her shoulders. Luz stays uncharacteristically silent. 

Then, after a moment, Luz squeezes her hand. When Amity meets her eyes, the human has a soft, proud smile on her face. “Come on,” she says, softly tugging her to the stairs. “Come with me, yeah?”

Amity goes with her.

Luz takes her to the Owl House. Amity feels a bit awkward around The Owl Lady, the older witch just gives her a softer-than-expected look and lets her in without any questions. Amity spends the night; she’ll have to face her parents again, soon, but right now that doesn’t matter. The only things that matter in these moments are Eda’s hand, patting her gently on the head as she says, “good on ya, kid, I always hated those fancy-schmancy losers.” And King’s way of playing with them, “hey! That’s cheating!” And.

And Luz. Just Luz in general. 

Luz, who smiles at Amity without a trace of judgement. Luz, who’s helped her more than anyone else even though she hasn’t known her for nearly as long. Luz, who has the biggest heart Amity’s ever met. 

And even though the day had been so incredibly stressful, Amity still considers it one of the best nights of her life. 

And it’s.

Nice.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> SO I snapped and made a 7k oneshot about The Best Cartoon Character of 2020 (at least) Amity Blight what about it baby needs a hug
> 
> thank you for reading!! <3


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